As snow blankets the East Coast, I am reminded of a burning question from my childhood: why won’t my mom let me eat the snow?! In elementary school, I begged her to let me whip up a bowl of snow ice cream (a slush of snow, sugar, milk, and vanilla). Behind her back, I’d stick my tongue out towards the sky in hopes of tasting a few precious flakes.
We all know not to eat yellow snow, but what about white snow? For the most part, yes. Potential contaminants in the snow that my mother feared are nowhere near toxic levels, especially if you are only having a bowlful now and then. In fact, mankind has relied on rain water and snow for safe drinking water for hundreds of thousands of years. However, here is what you can do to catch the cleanest snow possible and assuage your mother’s fears.
Wait a few hours.
One of the most obvious concerns about eating snow is the pollution it contains. With its crystal lattice structure, snow can trap pollutants wafting in the atmosphere. For example, in areas with wildfires or coal-burning power plants, little particles called black carbon are “caught” by the snow. Earlier snowfall will carry more pollutant particles like black carbon, while later snowfall will carry fewer. While this is a cool scientific fact, the difference in particle amounts is relatively minute when it comes to our overall safety.
Set a bowl out.
Catch the snow as it falls instead of scooping it off the ground. You wouldn’t want to get debris as you try to scrape up snow from your front lawn. This is especially helpful if your area typically gets meager amounts of snow like mine. Also, you can completely avoid the risk of accidentally scooping up that faintly yellow snow in the dark.
Watch out for wind.
If it is very windy, kicked up dirt can mix in with the snow as it falls. This is particularly relevant if you live near a construction site, and the wind has whipped against those massive, sandy piles of dirt. You also don’t want to eat snow that has touched your roof or the road before it was blown onto your yard. Your roof likely has an unbelievable amount of bird poop on it. If you’ve seen the gray streaked piles of snow on the side of the road after a plow truck, you also know how nasty the road is. The most pristine snow falls on a windless day.
My snowman and me (2007). This is an example of snow not to eat because I stomped all over it with my boots and dragged it across the ground. Also, eating my new friend would have been tragic.
Easy Snow Ice Cream “Recipe”
This is a “throw-it-all-in-a-bowl-until-it-tastes-good” recipe. Here’s how I make it.
Bowl of clean snow
Cold whole milk or cream
A couple tablespoons of sugar (to taste)
Splash of vanilla extract
Small pinch of salt (brings out the sweetness)
Into your bowl of snow, stir in milk a little at a time until you have a thick slushy texture, like a Starbucks Frappuccino. The amount of milk you add depends on how wet your snow is. Heavy wet snow needs less milk. Dry fluffy snow needs more milk. Then, stir in your sugar, vanilla, and salt to taste. I also saw online other people using cans of evaporated milk and sugar or sweetened condensed milk. I haven’t tried those, but they also sound delicious! Finally, you can add toppings like sprinkles or chocolate chips.
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